Republicans think I’m wrong.

Standing up for what you believe in. There are some catch phrases that people like to describe themselves as. As something they are. Or something they do. As if it’s something noble. People who “speak their opinion”. People who “stand for something”. “Values.” “Morals.”

People say they have values, as if the rest of the world doesn’t. I’m sure those extremist groups that have plotted a jihad against the US think they’re doing “the right thing”. And I’m sure you and I, as well as the Bush Administration, would disagree.

I guess the “standing up for what you believe in” occurred to me when I was thinking about what it’s like when you read an entry by somebody who is saying something contrary to what you think. This happens all the time. We all know how predictable responses to political entries are. There’s the people that cheer you on, the people that critique what you’ve said but agree with you, the people that critique what you’ve said but disagree with you, and the people that just think you’re full of shit. Erm.

I know how I feel when somebody you’re friends with disagrees with you on something. A stranger, I can let go. (Nevermind how many notes I may leave.) But, isn’t it frustrating when somebody you usually agree with says the exact opposite of what you believe?

Circumcision still bothers me. I just try not to think about it.

There’s a line when standing up for what you believe in becomes trying to convince somebody he or she doesn’t believe. Overstatement of the year, eh? There reaches a point where I just keep my mouth shut. I suppose nobody would even know about the times I keep my mouth shut. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS! OMG! But I don’t feel like analyzing the causes and reasons for those bizarre occurences. Or occurances. Spellcheck, somebody? I’m too lazy to frequent dictionary.com, right now.

Then there’s this matter of values. If you think about something too much, you’ll be convinced anybody who disagrees with you is a nut. What? How can you disagree with me? I’m right! Standing up for what you believe in can very fast bleed into self-righteousness.

And then there’s that wonderful phrase “open-minded”. That has lost all meaning to me. Take the issue of the death penalty. Imagine somebody is against the death penalty. You could say that person is closed-minded to the idea of the death penalty. …Which sounds inane, but is true. I am for the death penalty only in the sense that there may be those situations where we should put somebody to death. But in general, it just doesn’t appeal to me.

You could say I’m closed-minded to the war on Iraq. …But that’s because the Bush Administration had faulty reasons. You could say the Bush Administration is closed-minded to the truth. You can throw the phrase around as much as you want. If somebody disagrees with something, they’ve closed their mind to it. In a sense.

I don’t think anybody can be “closed-minded” in a general sense. That would mean they’re closed to everything. You can only be closed-minded to something. And even then, it’s a matter of degree. You have to understand people. It’s much easier to say “I’m against blah” than to say “I’m against blah with the exception of such and such circumstances”. We all like cookie-cutter positions and labels.

If two intelligent people are arguing, they’ll reach a point where they find what they disagree on. That one little nit-picking point from which everything spawns out from. There may be more than one point. Unfortunately, if you’re stubborn enough to reach this point, you’re also stubborn enough to push forward trying to show how your side of the point is better than the other side of the point. I don’t know, there reaches a point when you have to close up shop and go home. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what other people think unless it effects your life directly. (This is another good reason for the government to STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES. Ahem.)

…I keep coming back to edit this entry. By edit, I mean adding another paragraph after I post, because my mind thinks of something else. That phrase “effect your life directly”. How exactly can something indirectly effect your life? If nothing can, than saying “directly effect” is rundane.

Maybe I need somebody with a little imagination to give me an example of something that can indirectly effect your life. To me, if something effects my life at all, it directly effects me. Would indirectly effect mean that it effects you without you noticing? Without you caring? Would directly effect mean that it alters my way of life?

Anyway, I’m going to go get another slice of apple pie. Foregone conclusion I’ll shoot my mouth off again in the future, I’m never going to say I won’t. ..Just not tonight. : D